--- title: "Shadowy KC-135RT Special Ops Tankers Head Toward Afghanistan As Evacuation Airbridge Forms (Updated)" description: "The KC-135RTs could play a vital role supporting AC-130 gunships and other special ops aircraft as the Taliban push closer to the Afghan capital." date: "2021-08-13" modified: "2021-08-13" authors: - name: "Joseph Trevithick" job_title: "Deputy Editor" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/joseph-trevithick" url: "https://www.twz.com/41988/shadowy-kc-135rt-special-ops-tankers-head-toward-afghanistan-as-evacuation-airbridge-forms" categories: - "Afghanistan" - "Air" - "Air Forces" - "Around The Globe" - "KC-135" - "Middle East" - "News & Features" - "Tankers" - "U.S. Air Force" tags: - "AC-130" - "Aerial Refueling" - "Afghanistan" - "airbridge" - "evacuations" - "Kabul" - "KC-135R" - "KC-135RT" - "MC-130" - "receiver tanker" - "special operations" - "taliban" --- # Shadowy KC-135RT Special Ops Tankers Head Toward Afghanistan As Evacuation Airbridge Forms (Updated) ![]() *www.twz.com* Online flight tracking software indicates at least three of the U.S. Air Force's specially modified [KC-135RT "receiver tanker"]() aerial refueling aircraft have flown non-stop to the Middle East, and possibly beyond, in the past 24 hours. The KC-135RT fleet, which is primarily tasked with supporting special operations missions, is extremely small, comprising less than 10 jets based on publicly available information. Their appearance in the region [follows the announcement]() of an emergency surge of American troops into Afghanistan to help [U.S. diplomatic staff]() and others evacuate the country. It also comes as the security situation continues to deteriorate with the Taliban looking increasingly poised to begin a push to capture the capital Kabul. You can read more about all of this in *The War Zone*'s initial reporting [here](). Flight tracking data available through [ADS-B Exchange]() shows KC-135RTs with the serial numbers 58-0018, 58-0126, and 61-0293, departing McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas in the past day or so. McConnell is home to the 22nd Aerial Refueling Wing, to which [all of the KC-135RTs]() are assigned. All three planes were using "Reach" callsigns, which are most often used by aircraft on long-distance operational airlift flights. ![message-editor%2F1628877433992-kc-135rt-route.jpg]() *Online flight tracking data showing the general route taken by KC-135RT, serial number 58-0018, during a non-stop flight from McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas to the Middle East on Aug. 12, 2021. At least two other KC-135RTs, with serial numbers 58-0126, and 61-0293, followed a similar route., *ADS-B Exchange** All three aircraft followed roughly the same route, according to the available data, going first northeast into Canada and then out into the North Atlantic Ocean, before turning southeast and then flying down across the United Kingdom and continental Europe toward the Black Sea. They then continued into Turkish airspace. After that, the data is less complete, but 58-0018 subsequently appeared in the Persian Gulf region and might have been headed out into the North Arabian Sea. That is the first part of a route that U.S. military aircraft [routinely take]() to get from the Persian Gulf to Afghanistan, via Pakistani airspace. https://twitter.com/_/status/1426187530190266372 Exactly what has prompted the need for the KC-135RTs is unclear. Unlike standard KC-135Rs, these aircraft have their own inflight refueling receptacle on top of the forward fuselage right behind the cockpit, which allows them to make use of tanker support themselves to remain on station longer or to conduct longer-distance missions. The KC-135RTs also have an improved communications suite compared to normal KC-135Rs. While the exact capabilities of those systems are unclear, the Air Force has fielded the [Roll-On Beyond line-of-sight Enhancement]() (ROBE) package, a roll-on/roll-off "gateway" that is able to receive and transmit information across various waveforms, on some of its KC-135Rs. The service has [been developing additional systems]() that could turn those tankers, as well as [other types of aerial refuelers](), into even more powerful communications and data-sharing nodes, as well. You can read more about these receiver tankers and their capabilities in this [past *War Zone* feature](). https://youtube.com/embed/GXrvo278Tdg The KC-135RT fleet has most often been associated with supporting special operations forces, with their crews actually referred to as special operations air refueling (SOAR) airmen. In keeping with that mission set, SOAR crews are cleared to fly at low altitudes, blacked out, and in environments that require the use of emissions control (EMCON) procedures, commonly referred to as "radio silence." They also often operate "stacked up" up with traditional tankers, taking fuel from them and then passing it off to other, smaller platforms. These kinds of operations have involved providing gas to different variants of [AC-130 gunships]() and [MC-130]() special operations transports, among others, and could be part of the reason they're now in the Middle East or even over Afghanistan. ![message-editor%2F1628878714421-ac-130j-gunship.jpg]() *An AC-130J Ghostrider gunship., *USAF** ![message-editor%2F1628878827796-mc-130j.jpg]() *An MC-130J Commando II special operations transport., *USAF** AC-130s have [been a key asset]() for providing continued close air support to Afghan security forces as they battle the Taliban, but these aircraft have been flying those missions to and from bases in the Persian Gulf. This involves [traveling thousands of miles]() in each direction and can only limit the ability of those aircraft to loiter over areas of the battlefield for extended periods of time. The KC-135RTs could help keep those gunships on station longer. https://twitter.com/_/status/1424786833179824134 MC-130s have also been tracked flying in and out of Afghanistan recently and the receiver tankers could be supporting them, as well. The Air Force's current [MC-130H Combat Talon II]() and [MC-130J Commando II]() aircraft are both capable, among other things, of acting as tankers [for special operations helicopters]() and [Osprey tilt-rotors](), as well. The service's [HC-130 Combat King]() rescue aircraft also have similar aerial refueling capabilities. "stack" including those aircraft and KC-135RTs could provide the necessary support to get those platforms to and from Afghanistan from bases potentially thousands of miles away. https://twitter.com/_/status/1425915092663771140 Of course, the capabilities that the KC-135RTs offer could be applied to other contingency operations, as well. Reports indicate that the first elements of an expected [force of approximately 3,000 troops]() are now on their way to Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. The Pentagon is deploying these personnel ostensibly to help with a drawdown of personnel at the U.S. Embassy. Two Marine Corps infantry battalions, and another from the U.S. Army, will up the core of this force. A previous report that the Army contingent would come from 1st Battalion, 194th Field Artillery, part of the Iowa Army National Guard, was incorrect. The unit in question is actually the 1st Battalion, 194th Armor Regiment, part of the Minnesota Army National Guard. https://twitter.com/_/status/1426215440603402241 https://twitter.com/_/status/1426191235631435778 https://twitter.com/_/status/1426259747720806404 At the same time, U.S. officials [have insisted]() that there are no plans presently to abandon the Embassy entirely, or otherwise help U.S. government employees or other American nationals get out of the country en masse. American citizens [have been urged]() to leave the country on their own as soon as possible. However, additional forces [are already being positioned]() at forward locations in the Middle East for that purpose should the situation in Afghanistan devolve further. Other countries, including [the United Kingdom]() and [Germany](), are now also following suit. https://twitter.com/_/status/1426226252122365957 https://twitter.com/_/status/1426194075460452356 Supporting any future large-scale evacuation operation would require a significant airbridge, but the U.S. military presently lacks access to bases in countries neighboring Afghanistan. It has been having to fly sorties of all kinds of missions to and from that country using established bases elsewhere, particularly in the Persian Gulf. As such, the receiver tankers could be very useful for supporting non-stop flights by various kinds of aircraft, including Air Force airlifters, which may now be coming in from well beyond this general region, even from the United States proper. Such an airbridge is already forming to support the deployments that the Pentagon announced yesterday. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said today that the expectation is that American forces will be able to help thousands of people evacuate per day, if required. https://twitter.com/_/status/1426161851448979458 https://twitter.com/_/status/1426186437393797123 https://twitter.com/_/status/1426179208460570624 https://twitter.com/_/status/1426246863280291844 All of this comes amid a string of major Taliban advances across Afghanistan in recent weeks, which includes the [capture of multiple provincial capitals]() just in the past few days. These victories have been accompanied by [the fleeing or surrendering]() of significant numbers of troops aligned with the government in Kabul, as well as the [defection of at least some]() of them to the Taliban. In addition, the insurgents have continued to seize large amounts of weaponry and other materiel, including hundreds of Humvees and other military vehicles, as they gain ground. https://twitter.com/_/status/1426175354960498693 https://twitter.com/_/status/1424023254579044356 The capture of Afghan military bases in a number of major cities has led to the Taliban adding captured helicopters of various types, including U.S.-supplied [UH-60 Black Hawks]() and [Hughes 530F Little Birds](), as well as [small Scan Eagle drones](), to its spoils. Many of those aircraft appear to be non-flyable, [underscoring the steadily worsening state]() of the Afghan Air Force, which the U.S. government [has continued to tout]() as a key force multiplier that Afghan forces have in their continued fighting against the insurgents. https://twitter.com/_/status/1426208116560080900 There are now reportedly concerns within the U.S. government that the Taliban could move to seize Kabul in the coming days. This would be even faster than the potential timeline in recent official assessments, which had said that the group could surround the capital within 30 days and might be able to [capture it in three months]() or less. https://twitter.com/_/status/1426177251729621000 https://twitter.com/_/status/1426247309902458885 The was already a report [from *The New York Times*]() yesterday that the U.S. State Department has been trying to seek assurances that the Taliban would leave the American Embassy in Kabul alone if it were to take the city. The fall of Kabul could also give the group control of other sites, including Afghanistan's central [Da Afghanistan Bank](), which reported having over $9 billion in Gross Foreign Exchange Reserves last year. https://twitter.com/_/status/1266699706463334400 If things on the ground in Afghanistan get any worse, the exact need for the specialized KC-135RTs as part of the larger U.S. military airbridge that is forming now may become more apparent. ***Update 9:15 PM EST:*** Online flight tracking data now indicates that a total of six KC-135RTs, not three, have made their way in the direction of Afghanistan. There are also indications that additional MC-130Js, as well as other aircraft, have taken a similar route from the United States toward the Middle East. https://twitter.com/_/status/1426326386482941952 https://twitter.com/_/status/1426202024387825667 *Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com* ## Author Joseph is *TWZ’s* Deputy Editor, helping to oversee the site’s highly experienced and dedicated team, while also writing informative and impactful defense and national security content. He lives right in the thick of it in the Washington, D.C. area. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [Bluesky]()